Food Literacy Project

Save The Date: The Farmers' Market at Harvard will open for the 2024 season on Tuesday, June 18th! Grab your shopping bag and join us on the Science Center Plaza every Tuesday through October 29th, 11:30am-5:30pm. Help support the vital local farmers and food artisans who ensure we have fresh, healthy food!

The market will continue to accept SNAP with a weekly maximum SNAP Match of $15. Participating vendors also accept HIP, WIC, and Senior FMNP Coupons.

We look forward to seeing you at the market!

This Wednesday, join us for the Food Literacy Project Speaker Series: Indigenous New England Cuisine with Jordan Clark, Assistant Director, HUNAP

Throughout the month of November, Native American Heritage Month is observed widely to recognize the achievements and contributions of Native Americans. In fact, contemporary American food culture in New England is indebted to the indigenous people of this region. Before the arrival of Europeans, vegetables and legumes including corn, beans, squash, and pumpkins were planted and harvested seasonally. Blueberries, cranberries, crabapples, fish, shellfish, and deer were foraged and hunted. Stories and celebrations around food aligned with the seasons and brought people together. Many of New England’s most iconic dishes are rooted in Native American traditional cuisine.
Learn more about indigenous New England cuisine from Jordan Clark, Assistant Director at the Harvard University Native American Program.

Sign up at https://bit.ly/FLPEvents. This event is limited to HUID holders.

Join us for our first FLP Speaker Series event next Wednesday, 9/20!

Next Wednesday! We're thrilled to kick off the semester with a crash course on all things HUDS. Our guest speaker will be Crista Martin, Director for Strategic Initiatives and Communications at Harvard Dining Services. During this presentation, learn what it's like to work with a wide network of farmers and vendors, develop diverse menus, and what it takes to provide students with 20,000+ meals per day.
This event is open to all HUID holders.

See you at the Farmers' Market on Tuesday!

Next Tuesday, June 20th, is Opening Day of the Farmers' Market at Harvard! Stop by the Plaza between 11:30am - 5:30pm for local berries, freshly baked bread, locally caught fish, a dozen eggs, a cup of coffee, a cookie to go, and more!

First-Year students! Join the First-Year Food Literacy Project Fellows tonight during Brain Break to learn how to assemble a balanced, nutritious, and filling breakfast! Ingredients will be provided to make your own overnight oats with optional fresh fruit to store in a refrigerator overnight for a delicious breakfast the following morning.
Stop by to assemble a tasty jar of overnight oats tonight at 9pm and to meet the First-Year FLP Fellows.

This event is limited to First-Year Harvard College students.

Harvard College students! Are you interested in the intersection of food and science?
On Wednesday, join the Food Literacy Project for a special demonstration on the Science of Homemade Ricotta. This event is free and open to all Harvard College students with an HUID.

Next Tuesday, join us for another HFSI event!

In September 2022, the Biden Administration hosted the second White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health (the first was held in 1969 by the Nixon Administration). The Conference goal: End hunger and increase healthy eating and physical activity by 2030, so that fewer Americans experience diet-related diseases like diabetes, obesity, and hypertension.
Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian of Tufts University co-chaired an independent Task Force which aimed to help catalyze and lay the groundwork for the Conference and is now supporting the subsequent national strategy and policy designed to help end hunger and reduce diet-related diseases and disparities.

In this Harvard Food Systems Initiative (HFSI) dialogue, Dr. Mozaffarian will share the work of the White House Task Force and Conference, and the impact of such public policy following the 1969 program and what he foresees as a result of the 2022 event.
Dr. Mozaffarian is a cardiologist, and at Tufts is a Special Advisor to the Provost, Dean for Policy, and Jean Mayer Professor at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy (Jean, Mayer, former President of Tufts and professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, planned and led the 1969 conference). He is currently on a leave from Tufts while he helps inform the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health.

Following a presentation, Dr. Mozaffarian will engage in a Q&A session led by HUDS Managing Director, Smitha Haneef.

Next week: join us for another HFSI panel discussion!

Are you interested in issues around topics like food waste, food access, and equitable food production? This career-focused panel discussion will include current law students from the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic (FLPC), Animal Law and Policy Clinic (ALPC) and Environmental Law and Policy Clinic (ELPC): Sophie DeBode, Arlene Lopez, and Kipper Berven.

Panelists will engage in a dialogue about the differences, similarities, and intersections of food law, animal law, and environmental law for effecting change in our food systems. Learn about what sparked their interest in law and what types of jobs, internships, and careers exist in food law and policy today.

This event is free and open to the public. Harvard ID holders may attend in person. Registration is encouraged as seating is limited.
A live Zoom option will also be available for non-Harvard ID holders. Registration on Zoom is required to receive the webinar link.

Register at www.bit.ly/food-and-the-law

Tomorrow at 12:30pm! Join us for an in-person cooking demo at Winthrop House where you'll learn how to make two simple, nutritious, and super flavorful dishes: Jollof Rice and Black-Eyed Pea Salad.
Sign up: https://bit.ly/FLPEvents

All HUID holders are welcome to register!

WINTHROP HOUSE RESIDENTS: The first 10 Winthrop residents who register to attend in-person can go to the cooking class for *FREE*! Use code WINTHROPRESIDENT to get a free ticket.

Join us for a cooking demo next Friday, 2/17!

Next Friday, 2/17: Join us for a lunchtime cooking demo where you'll get a taste of history, cooking tips, and delectable food! From the local nonprofit, Oldways's website, "The African Heritage Diet is a healthy traditional eating model based on African American ancestors' common threads and foodways. This diet recognizes the distinct flavors and traditions of four major regions of the African Diaspora—West and Central Africa, the American South, the Caribbean, and South America."

Oldways Heritage Diet Curriculum Coordinator, Sarah Anderson, will lead a cooking demonstration of two delicious recipes: Jollof Rice and Black-Eyed Pea Salad. Attendees will receive digital copies of both recipes.

Harvard ID holders may attend in person for $5 to enjoy the live cooking demonstration and samples. Must present HUID upon arrival.

A live Zoom option will also be available for non-Harvard ID holders. There is no cost to attend the virtual cooking demo.

SIGN UP: https://bit.ly/FLPEvents

Join us this Wednesday, 2/8!

Are you curious about the impacts of food waste globally? What about food waste right here at Harvard?

Join us for "Scraps: The Environmental & Societal Implications of Reducing Food Waste," a panel discussion this Wednesday at 4:30pm. Sign up to attend in-person (must present HUID) or on Zoom.

We're kicking off the speaker series on February 8th! This panel discussion is free and open to all. See details below.

Scraps: The Environmental & Societal Implications of Reducing Food Waste
Wednesday, February 8, 2023
4:30-5:30pm (ET)
Sever Hall, Room 202
Zoom option available

An estimated 30-40% of all food in America is wasted. According to Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks and food pantries, “that equates to 130 billion meals and more than $408 billion in food thrown away each year.” These sizeable numbers can make it difficult to get a grounded sense of what wasted food means for the food system at large. From farms, to distributers, to retailers, restaurants, and homes, food is wasted at every stage. During this presentation, learn more about the impact of food waste reduction, and what it means for the environment, and for individuals.

Harvard Kennedy School Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy, Afreen Siddiqi, will “set the table” for this conversation with an overview of the environmental, social, and economic impacts of wasted food. The panel will also include presenters from Harvard, including HUDS Chefs Donn Leonard and Justin Cassidy, Harvard’s Recycling Services Supervisor, Dailey Brannin, and Harvard College student, Breda Page Violette, a Food Literacy Project Fellow who helps operate a Harvard-based shelter for individuals experiencing homelessness.

This Wednesday afternoon at 4:30pm (ET), join us for our next HFSI virtual event:

De-Mythifying K-12 Food

Our elementary and secondary school food experiences are a formative introduction to the food system. In fact, they’re some of the most influential outside our home food experiences. But the narrative around K-12 food-service is often negative. What could a school lunch look like in the US? The City of Cambridge Public Schools and the Chef Ann Foundation join us to talk about how they are creating conversation-leading, delicious, sustainable meals for school children and what’s possible with a food systems mindset.

Sunny Tang, Food Literacy Project Fellow and student at Harvard College, will provide context for the conversation by sharing about her work with Food Lab for Kids, a student-run organization that aims to engage young students in the sciences through the lens of cooking as well as teach them about how to cook to create a healthy, nutritious lifestyle.

Tomorrow! Please join us for the next HFSI guest speaker event featuring four dynamic Harvard Faculty members who are thinking about the food system creatively:

As a complex, living system, the food system requires interdisciplinary insights and creative problem solving to reach meaningful solutions. Food Literacy Project Fellows at Harvard College turned to Harvard Faculty who are thinking about areas that intersect with the food system, including food law & policy, plant-based meat alternatives, evolutionary biology, and anthropology. Panelists will share how their field relates to the food system and how weaving together different subject areas can inspire elevated thinking and ultimately, change.

This virtual event is free and open to the public. Registration is required at https://bit.ly/zoomflp.

Next Wednesday, join us for an HFSI panel discussion with Harvard Faculty titled, Digesting the Food System.

As a complex, living system, the food system requires interdisciplinary insights and creative problem solving to reach meaningful solutions. Food Literacy Project Fellows at Harvard College turned to Harvard Faculty who are thinking about areas that intersect with the food system, including food law and policy, plant-based meat alternatives, human evolutionary biology, and anthropology. Panelists will share how their field relates to the food system and how weaving together different subject areas can inspire elevated thinking and ultimately, change.

This event is free and open to the public. Visit hfsi.harvard.edu to register.

TODAY: Join the Food Literacy Project for a guided dining hall kitchen tour at Eliot/Kirkland House (walk through the underground tunnels that connect these two Houses!) and Quincy House this afternoon at 3pm. Meet at the servery.

See where food is stored and prepared at your House; learn about the recipes, ingredients, and preparation processes that go into the food you eat every day. You'll have the opportunity to meet your residential HUDS staff and ask questions.

Tours are *free* and open to all Harvard College students with an HUID. No sign-up required.

Next Wed, 10/12, at 4:30pm, HFSI is proud to present:
Eating for Personal and Planetary Health with
Frank Hu, MD, PhD, Chair, Department of Nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
And
Stacy Blondin ’07, PhD,Behavioral Science Associate at the World Resources Institute

The Healthy Eating Plate clearly lays out that at least 75% of our plate should be filled with plants – fruits, vegetables and whole grains – for the sake of our personal and planetary health. Dr. Frank Hu, Chair of the Department of Nutrition at the T. H. Chan School of Public Health, shares what it is about plants that make them sustainable – both the nutrient density that sustains our bodies, but also the environmental practices that are better for the earth. And what about that other 25% of the plate? Plants can sustainably occupy that quadrant too.

Dr. Hu is joined by Dr. Stacy Blondin ‘07, Behavioral Science Associate at the World Resources Institute, who studies behavioral science and the keys to changing the way we think about, approach and present food for a more sustainable plate.

This event is free and open to the public. Harvard ID holders may attend in person; registration is encouraged as seating is limited.
A live Zoom option will also be available for non-Harvard ID holders.
Visit https://hfsi.harvard.edu/events/ to read more and register for in-person or on Zoom.

HUDS and are focused on plants today! As we celebrate and work to improve food systems, we excited to help you taste and experience the benefits of plants!

Join the Food Literacy Project for a guided dining hall kitchen tour in your neighborhood! Upcoming tours are listed below and there are more to come next week.
See where food is stored and prepared at your House; learn about the recipes, ingredients, and preparation processes that go into the food you eat every day. You'll have the opportunity to meet your residential HUDS staff and ask questions.

Annenberg Kitchen Tour: Tues, 9/27 at 10:30am

Dunster House Kitchen Tour: Thurs, 9/29 at 12pm and 1:15pm

Tours are free and open to all Harvard College students with an HUID. No sign-up required!

Curious about food history at Harvard? Join us next week for a food-centric museum tour!

Tour of Resetting the Table Exhibit
Wednesday, September 28
2-3pm
Harvard Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology

The “Resetting the Table: Food and Our Changing Tastes” exhibition at Harvard’s Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology explores food choices and eating habits in the United States, including the sometimes hidden but always important ways in which our tables are shaped by cultural, historical, political, and technological influences.

Join us on this special in-person talk and tour at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology with Diana Loren: Director & Museum Curator, North American Archaeology.

This talk is presented by the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology at Harvard University and the Harvard Food Systems Initiative.

This event is open to all HUID holders. Free admission, but registration is required. To register, visit https://tinyurl.com/hfsitable. Space is limited.

First-Year Students! We invite you to attend a roundtable discussion and climate-friendly dinner with Dr. Walter Willett and Smitha Haneef on Wednesday, 9/28. Read more and sign up at https://tinyurl.com/WillettDinner

The Harvard Food Systems Initiative (HFSI) is proud to present:
A Climate-Friendly Dinner and Roundtable Discussion with Dr. Walter Willett & Smitha Haneef
Wednesday, Sept 28
6-7pm
Annenberg Dining Hall

First-Year Students! Following Dr. Willett’s presentation about the food system on 9/28, please join us for a small group dinner and roundtable discussion at Annenberg Dining Hall. Tables will be reserved and a special biodiverse and climate-friendly menu will be served to attendees.
This is a great opportunity to meet other students interested in food and to get face time with a Harvard faculty member who has decades of experience in the field of food and nutrition. This is also a wonderful opportunity to meet Smitha Haneef, Managing Director of Harvard Dining Services, and co-chair of the Harvard Food Systems Initiative, to ask any questions you have about HUDS or the Harvard food system.

This event is open to Harvard first-year students. Seating is limited. REGISTER at https://tinyurl.com/WillettDinner.

Harvard College students: We invite you to volunteer with the Heat-N-Eats Program this semester!

Heat-N-Eats Plate-Up Sessions are Back!

At the Heat-N-Eats Program, volunteers work in Annenberg’s kitchens to repurpose leftover food into meals with dignity – balanced meals of complementing proteins, starches and vegetables. Completed meals are then picked up by local non-profit, Food for Free, and shared with food insecure families and individuals in the surrounding area.

HUDS invites Harvard College students to join us in this volunteer work.
Undergraduates may participate in plate-ups on Monday, Wednesday or Thursday evenings at Annenberg after dinner service. Volunteer plate-up sessions are led by Food Literacy Project (FLP) Food Recovery Fellows who educate participants about the environmental and social context of food waste.

To sign up for a volunteer shift, visit https://harvardheatneats.setmore.com
Volunteers are limited to Harvard ID holders.

Apply to be an FLP Fellow this year! Visit https://dining.harvard.edu/food-literacy-project/fellowship-program/undergraduate-fellowships to learn more. Apply by Sept. 23rd!

We're hiring Food Literacy Project Fellows!

Interested in learning about food, and sharing that knowledge with the Harvard community? Since 2005, the Food Literacy Project has provided opportunities to explore the food system experientially and academically. With focuses on sustainability, nutrition, food preparation & community, the FLP seeks to empower everyone to make informed food choices. Learn from practitioners in the field, farmers, chefs, influencers, and historians; plan food education events; get access to outings, cooking classes, tastings, and other special events.

All students, regardless of prior knowledge about food, are encouraged to apply. Visit https://dining.harvard.edu/food-literacy-project/fellowship-program/undergraduate-fellowships. Apply by Friday, Sept. 23rd.

We're hiring a Student Farmers' Market Assistant to be present at the Farmers' Market at Harvard on Tuesdays starting June 21st.
Visit tinyurl.com/harvardmktassistant to read more and to apply.

Harvard College Students! Are you interested in getting involved with the Farmers' Market at Harvard? We are hiring a Student Market Assistant. This is a part-time position on Tuesdays only (approx. 11am-6pm), June 21 - October 25, 2022. Read the full job description and apply here by Wed., May 25th: tinyurl.com/harvardmktassistant

First-year FLP Fellows coordinated a group of student volunteers to pack groceries for Food For Free's Just Eats grocery box program this morning. The Just Eats grocery box program provides healthy food to over 3,000 Boston area families and individuals each week. Today, student volunteers worked together to pack 4 pallets of grocery boxes! Thanks for hosting, Food for Free!

Celebrate Earth Week with us this Wednesday at 4:30pm (ET)! We'll hear from guest presenter, Kevin Cody, from the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project.
This virtual presentation is free and open to all. Sign up at https://bit.ly/FLPEvents. Registration is required.

The New Entry Sustainable Farming Project’s (New Entry) mission is to foster resilience in local, regional and national food systems by training a new generation of farmers to produce food that is nutritious, culturally connected and accessible to all individuals. In doing this work, they develop economic opportunities for new farmers, generate new knowledge, and facilitate connections to the land to build thriving communities.

An initiative of Tufts University’s Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, New Entry works locally, regionally, and across the country to strengthen local food systems by supporting new farmers. Guest presenter, Kevin Cody, is the Farmer Training Program Manager at New Entry where he develops pathways to generate and sustain new and beginning farmers.

Join us for the final FLP speaker series presentation of the semester this Wednesday, at 4:30pm (ET). Sign up at https://bit.ly/FLPEvents. This virtual event is free and open to all. Registration is required.

The Food Literacy Project speaker series continues this afternoon at 4:30pm (ET) with Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Aviva Musicus!

Aviva was recently named to Forbes magazine’s 2021 “30 Under 30” list in the health care category. She was recognized for her work studying how food-related policy affects human health and behavior. Aviva will be presenting on her latest research as well as past projects she worked on in collaboration with HUDS, like the Healthy Meeting Guidelines.

This virtual presentation is free and open to all. Registration is required. Sign up at https://bit.ly/FLPEvents.

This afternoon, FLP kicked off Earth Month with a meatless burger cooking class and tasting!
The Food Literacy Project is exploring climate-friendly foods all month long. Keep an eye out here or visit https://bit.ly/FLPEvents to learn more about upcoming speakers and events this month.

Do you love burgers? Are you interested in eating more sustainably? Come to an FLP-organized meatless burger tasting event tomorrow from 1-2:15pm. We will be making and sampling Impossible burgers, Beyond burgers, veggie burgers from Trader Joes, and a bean or veggie burger. This hands-on experience will expose participants to the different preparation methods and unique flavor profiles of a few leading climate-friendly burgers.

This event is limited to Harvard students. Registration is required. Sign up at https://tinyurl.com/FLPburgertasting.

TODAY at 4pm, join FLP and HUDS Registered Dietitian, Karen Jew, for a tour of Annenberg’s new Greens and Grains station. Learn how to craft your own greens and grains bowl using fresh ingredients like pickled vegetables, leafy greens, beans, farro, and more. Get tips on how to maximize nutrition, creativity and deliciousness from a registered dietitian. Learn how to navigate the new station and offer suggestions of what you'd like to see at the Greens & Grains station in the future.

This event is open to all First-Year students. Sign up at https://tinyurl.com/FLPgreensgrains.